About-Face Blog

Like lots of women, I’m aching for more body positivity in pop culture. Meghan Trainor’s “All About That Bass” appears to be a great example of a body positive song with lyrics such as, “I see the magazine workin’ that Photoshop / We know that shit ain’t real” and “‘Cause every inch of you is perfect / From the Continue reading

As a new member of Facebook, I frequently find myself flummoxed by its strange ways. Someone “liked” my “status”? I’ve been invited to play “Candy Crush”? Someone has “poked” me? Usually, with much grumbling and cursing in Yiddish, I find some way to adapt to the world of countable likes, crushes on inanimate objects, and Continue reading

Once upon a time (until a few minutes ago), there was no greater shame or punishment in our culture than being fat. Kids as young as three were worrying their cute little heads about it, scholars were chronicling how unjustly fat people are treated in powerful books like Fat Shame: Stigma and the Fat Body Continue reading

I love superhero movies. I’ve eagerly awaited every new Batman movie, I’ve been following the Avengers franchise for years – and I was very excited, a few weeks ago, to go see Guardians of the Galaxy. I enjoyed it, but in one critical respect, I came away disappointed. Not in the story, or the acting. Continue reading

Love it or hate it, ABC Family’s Pretty Little Liars is an inescapable staple of current pop culture. The soupy and sartorial mystery/horror show debuted in 2010 and is nearing the end of its fifth season, with its success due to the the mix of guilty pleasure TV and a savvy intelligence of the culture in Continue reading

Call me strange, but as I was moseying around the women’s swimwear section at JCPenney the other day, I found myself feeling pretty sorry for the swimsuits. They just looked so dejected and confused, like they didn’t know what their purpose was in life. I realized two things as I found myself empathizing with the Continue reading

Did you know that bikinis used to be completely scandalous? When they debuted in 1946, their inventor Louis Réard couldn’t find models willing to wear them. Réard named them well — after an island atoll where the US had recently been testing atomic weapons, in the expectation that the tiny bathing suits to create a Continue reading

Ok, so you guys. Did you know that “Telfies” are a real thing? Yeah, uh huh. Telfies, meaning a selfie where you bare your tummy. Because apparently if you have a flat stomach, you need to make sure the whole world can see it on their phones. I’m all about “Live and let live,” and Continue reading

It’s often easy to put your mental health on the back burner. We’re all busy with school, work, friends, and family; how do you find the time to fit in an appointment with a therapist as well? For that matter, how do you decide if you need to visit a therapist or if you’re just Continue reading

By Caitlin Lansing John Legend’s “You & I (Nobody in the World)” John Legend’s new music video for his song “You & I (Nobody in the World)” continues a recent trend – which will hopefully become a norm – of featuring “real” women. Coming off the heels of the aerie Real campaign and coinciding with Continue reading